J.J. Abrams has directed what is, since The Hobbit, the most anticipated movie coming to the big screen. It is possibly the most anticipated film of at least three generations of fans, as it’s a sequel where anything can happen, and we don’t really know what’s going to happen.

Here, Abrams addresses response to that lightsaber seen in the Star Wars: The Force Awakensteaser. He’s having fun seeing the positive and negative reactions, and said that people have been having the same conversations they had early on about this lightsaber that started as a design, but the conversations were in reverse. How were they in reverse? Good question.

Abrams also mentions that he’s executive producing Episode VIII and Episode IX, and that Rian Johnson is director on at least the next one. This is something that a lot of people seem to miss. Rian Johnson may not direct Episode IX. Those duties may return to Abrams or go to another director.

There will only be one exciting sequence in IMAX but Abrams won’t say what is involved there. He said it’s a fun one.

They’re also still cutting the movie and haven’t seen the movie together yet.

He also mentioned that while they did build sets and do practical things as much as possible, using the Sun for lighting when outside, and things like that, there’s an incredible amount of CG in the film. He mentioned that a lot of the CG used is to remove things from shots.

After that, they moved on to the next Star Trek film. He said that he’s not really sure that it’ll be Star Trek 3, but more of a Star Trek: Adventures in Space. It is possible that it won’t be a direct sequel to Star Trek Into Darkness, and instead more of a singular adventure.

“All I know is that it is, without question, an intense and terrifying prospect…The opportunity, I think, is greater than the fear, than the risk. I’m more excited about the work everyone has done on the movie and this incredible cast.”

“It was an amazing experience making this movie, I mean for everyone. There was a sort of weird buzz in the air when we were making this movie, but we were all aware how hard we had to work to make it something worthy of people’s time.”

The first round of characters from Star Wars: The Force Awakens have been named. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, the characters named are the ones that appeared in the teaser and no more.

J.J. Abrams went on record saying that the numbers on the cards are significant, but without explaining why. If I were to speculate, I’d say that the numbers correlate to when scenes depicted in the film take place within the overall story of the movie.

There’s a photo going around that people want me to share here, in the hopes that Abrams himself will see it. I doubt that Abrams even knows this website exists, but I’ll relent.

First, I will explain why I think there’s nothing wrong with the current Lightsaber, and then the problem with my thoughts on it.

The lightsaber has the cross beams, and people are saying “well that’s not going to stop any blade from sliding down and slicing through the hilt.” What if the material the hilt is made out of can stop the blade? It seems that it can focus the blade in whatever direction, so it stands to reason that it could also deflect the blade of another lightsaber.

Argument against? Other lightsabers have been sliced in two, including Darth Maul’s own double bladed lightsaber.

Argument for? According to super geeky source material, there are materials in the Star Wars universe that may deflect or even short-circuit a lightsaber blade. The substances are phrik, cortosis and Mandalorian iron. In fact, Emperor Palpatine’s own lightsaber was made of phrik, as described in the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary.

Therefore, the material the cross beam is made out of could very well be that same substance. Problem solved.

The world has been waiting for another Star Wars feature film since 2005’s Revenge of the Sith, and about seven months after the tenth anniversary of that film, The Force Awakens will be released for our viewing pleasure.

Bad Robot tweeted a new note from director J.J. Abrams about the length of the trailer with the word “THANKSGIVING.”

An early 88-second tease of Star Wars: The Force Awakens can be seen in 30 theaters across North America beginning Friday morning, November 28. Following this weekend, the tease can be seen in theaters around the world this December.

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Our first fan art of the week comes from Albino Raven‘s entry to the Official Bad Robot Art Experience that happened at Gallery 1988, in 2013. This piece is set after the events of Super 8 with the kids creating a new short film based on their adventures in the movie.

The first teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is imminent. Rumor has it that it will be showing up sooner than we think. Last weekend, John Williams may have even recorded new music specifically for the teaser.

And now there is a possible description for the teaser. Here’s what the report from Badass Digest says:

What’s it going to be like? If my sources are correct (and this is a big IF. These sources have been mighty reliable in the past, and if they’re wrong I believe they’re wrong honestly, i.e. they’re not b.s.ing me), it’ll be short. And when I say short, I mean one minute long. It’s going to have The Force Theme played on woodwinds, softly, over flashing images of the main leads, each fading to black. There’s no dialogue, just reveals of the characters. And then the music swells up into a full orchestral piece – perhaps what John Williams recorded this weekend? – and we hear a female voice, likely Daisy Ridley‘s, saying “Wake up.”

And then the title card appears – Star Wars: The Force Awakens – and we see the Millennium Falcon, firing blasters, coming right at the camera.

There are some other trailer descriptions out there, but as I’ve said before, if this turns out to be true, it’s only based on the teaser and not really spoiler material. I’m trying to keep myself spoiler-free for the movie as much as possible, only watching trailers and viewing official photos and posters released from LucasFilm/Disney.

Regardless of everything else that is coming to theaters in 2015, my most anticipated movie of the year is one that I never thought would happen: Star Wars: Episode VII. On Friday, October 31, production wrapped on the first film of the next generation of Star Wars films. Here’s a letter that came from J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy and a few others involved in the production:

To the Extraordinary Cast and Crew of Episode VII:

It is a true honor and absolute joy to come to set every day and work alongside each of you. Your professionalism, passion and patience is more deeply appreciated than we could ever express. From the deserts of Abu Dhabi, to the Forest of Dean, to the stages of Pinewood, you have risen to every challenge and been as wonderfully kind as you are brilliantly talented. Our ambition here is large, of course, and it must be: we are here to make a film that entertains millions of people, of all ages, for generations. To create an experience people will cherish watching as much as we will cherish having made it, together. How lovely it would be if you had, in addition to your name on the screen, some actual, real, tangible proof that you were part of it! Here, then, is that proof. Wear it well, wear it healthily, wear it proudly. But, mostly, thank you.